Lorenzo Lucca, Napoli's 25-year-old forward, returned to the periphery of pre-season conversation this week as new head coach Massimiliano Allegri closed the club's Dimaro training camp with a 2-0 friendly victory against Carrarese — a result built around Rasmus Hojlund and Giacomo Giovane rather than Lucca himself.
The significance is not dramatic, but it is worth noting. Lucca managed just one goal across 16 Serie A appearances in 2025-26 under Antonio Conte, carrying an average match rating of 6.60 and an AI overall score of 57 out of 100. Those numbers describe a player who has not yet imposed himself at this level — present, functional, but not yet decisive. With Allegri now in the dugout and a transfer window still open, Lucca's standing in the squad hierarchy is genuinely uncertain.
Allegri, speaking after the Carrarese friendly, indicated he would assess the squad once the transfer market settles, noting that Napoli possess important values but that evaluation would come at the window's close. That framing — patient, non-committal — does not close the door on Lucca, but it does not open it wide either. A coach surveying his options is not a coach building around a player.
The broader context at Napoli complicates Lucca's position further. Kevin De Bruyne's imminent return to training after an extended break has generated its own friction within the squad, and the club's pre-season has carried an unsettled quality. For a forward who needs rhythm and confidence to convert his potential — rated at 68 out of 100 by the club's analytical models — disruption is the worst possible environment.
Napoli finished second in Serie A with 73 points from 37 matches, a platform that demands European-level contribution from every attacking option. Lucca's single goal last season does not meet that bar. The gap between his current output and his projected ceiling is real, and at 25 he is entering the years when forwards either consolidate or stall.
Allegri's Napoli will define itself through this pre-season and the final weeks of the market. Where Lucca fits in that definition — starter, rotation piece, or departure — is the question the coming weeks will answer.